My Land of Paradise
by Astral Fire-Bird
Summary: Natsu Dragneel, a boy captured during the Child Hunt after his foster father disappeared, meets the "ghost of Zeref". He's obsessed with the resurrection of the mage, and will stop at nothing to complete the R-system. It may be Fate that a certain blonde-haired mage stumbles upon this tower.
1. Adrift

**Natsu Dragneel, captured during the Child Hunt after his foster father disappears, encounters the "ghost of Zeref" while saving his friends. He knows now that there's only one world-Land of Paradise for Zeref. It may be pure coincidence that a certain mage happens to stumble upon the tower...or it may be Fate.**

**Rated T for some language and possible themes.**

**Currently unbeta-ed. Apologies for mistakes.**

* * *

_"Jellal! Jellal!"_

_The boy did not respond. His head simply lolled to the side. Natsu prayed that he was still alive, and set to work on the ropes, rough texture cutting even more into his bloodied fingers. He tried to ignore the pain, focusing on freeing his friend._

_The tricky knot finally came undone, and Jellal hit the floor with a soft thud. Natsu scurried over quickly and draped the older boy's arm over his shoulder and dragged him from the dank and rotting cell. The bluenette groaned, and his eyes flickered open slightly, neck twisting slowly as he tried to gain his bearings. _

_"Natsu?"_

_His voice was grainy and shaky - Natsu simply gripped his arm tighter in response. He had to save his breath, or else neither of them would make it out. Suddenly stumbling, he tripped over the body of a dead mage - he would never disagree with Erza again - his foot slid on the crumbly dirt and he landed with a yelp of pain on a dented sword. _

_Jellal, though very weakly, was pulling Natsu back from the blade, stopping him from impaling himself. Quickly righting himself, Natsu took hold of Jellal again, who looked ready to faint. Muttering a quick thanks, Natsu proceeded forward, to the stairs that lead down to the next floor._

_Natsu could feel something warm gushing down his leg. Worried that Jellal was hurt, he looked over, the but the boy seemed fine besides his numerous injuries, and he was even walking mostly by himself now, relying less and less on Natsu as the stairs came closer._

_Then Natsu noticed - a dark stain on his left pant leg, spreading impossibly fast. It didn't hurt, though. Natsu didn't feel anything except for the pain in his chest from breathing in so much toxic from the workplace. _

_But the wound seemed to be taking a toll on him - Natsu could feel his breath becoming more and more labored, and his vision began to swim. Jellal must've noticed this too, for he had stopped leaning on the pink-haired boy and was gripping his arm as they moved on and on._

_They had no sooner set their feet on the first step when someone shouted, voice loud and screechy. Fear danced clearly in Jellal's eyes as she stared behind them, and when Natsu turned, too, he wanted to scream._

_Mages, though battered and bruised, were heading toward them, all holding shackles and a whip. Most had impossibly wide grins, anger and giddiness bringing spring into their step. Some were shouting profanities as they limped, waving their whips like a lasso angrily._

_They'd caught up._

* * *

"No!"

The word echoed clearly in the large, nearly empty room.

Heavy, labored breathing could be heard clearly, and a figure laid on velvet covers, covered with a sheen of sweat, shaking as his eyes threatened to release tears.

Fear. He'd thought that he'd banished that feeling so long ago. After all, with his god by him, there was nothing to lose or fear - only to gain.

But no matter how many times he laughed at the idea of being reduced to tears about something - there he was, nearly crying because of a simple nightmare.

No matter how long and painfully slow time passed, the dreams were always as vivid and as clear as day - it hurt, to have to feel every drop of pain every time he sank into what was supposed to be a peaceful slumber. No, he would never rest, and he would have to encounter his worst fear every night.

The nightmares never got better, not less frightening - in fact, they seemed to become clearer and more dreadful every time. He would most likely become insane after a while - deprived of sleep and sanity. But if he had to live for the resurrection of his god, then he would suffer through everything.

He didn't want to go back into the dream world. But the last three nights were of staring out the window at the impossibly bright moon, hating how it seemed to stare right back at him.

No, he needed the rest tonight. He needed it to bring him back to life.

With that, he curled up and fell into yet another restless sleep.

* * *

"Graaaaay! Heeeeelp! Erzaaaa! Jellaaaaaal! Anyone!"

Lucy Heartfilia felt like crying. Very, very badly.

She was stranded in a boat in who-knows-where, and all of her magic power had been used on the evil mage on the mission. And it was supposed to be successful - beat the guy up, grab the jewels, and get their butts the hell out of there.

So why was she the one who was washed to sea? Either Jellal, Erza, or Gray could've performed some amazing magic that allowed them to run back to the coast. There would be absolutely no problem, and they could go back to Fairy Tail and celebrate.

The worst part was that none of her other teammates knew about her gone. Lucy wanted a walk - and a walk she would get, being stuck in a boat. Really.

Sure, someone might notice, but they would probably assume that Lucy was somewhere on the mainland, not adrift in the wide, far sea.

There was no other thing to do than to lay down and attempt to sleep to pass the night away. Perhaps her magic power would return with sleep, and she could call on Aquarius - oh dear - to help her back to the mainland.

She never noticed the faint, black shape on the horizon, steadily growing bigger as Lucy closed her eyes.

She sank into blissful sleep that welcomed her into its arms, and provided a haven until the next morning. Oh, how she wished that she'd stayed at the hotel with the rest of her team.

But maybe if Lucy had never taken that walk, the world would be dead by now.

* * *

**Just a little idea that popped up into my head.**

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	2. Bushy Brows, Hello

"I haven't found her."

"Me neither."

"I might have."

Two pairs of eyes swiveled almost at the exact same time to stare at Jellal, who shrugged, leaning nonchalantly on the bed in their hotel room. "I haven't, really, but I do have an idea of how to find her."

"How?" Gray demanded. Jellal was getting on his nerves again, and it was hard to conceal his annoyance. "You can stop being Mister Mysterious-Suspense and tell us."

"Boot marks in the sand, along the shore. One boat is missing, and the rope looks as if it'd been tugged apart violently."

"You're saying Lucy sat in one of the moored boats and it suddenly decided to leave?" Gray asked incredulously.

Erza, who was deep in thought at that time, rubbed her armored fingers on her chin. "Could be possible," she mused, eyebrows knotted together slightly. "Shall we go take a look?"

Neither one of the boys dared disagree with the armor mage.

* * *

Lucy woke up to something prodding her face. Sleepily, she swatted it away, not opening her eyes. It stopped prodding her, but she heard heavy, labored breathing, and she cracked an eye open.

A man with oh so thick eyebrows was squinting down at her, his form outlined by the glowing sun.

Her heart nearly jumped out of her throat. Why was a random man staring at her? It could only mean one thing -

"Pervert!" Lucy screamed, and delivered a stunning Lucy Kick to his face, which was quite a feat to complete while lying down. The man recoiled, grunting as his rubbed his now reddening face.

"Why, you - !"

"Hey! Hurry up!" Someone was making their way down to where Lucy and the angry man were. That was when Lucy noticed - a huge, towering black structure loomed in front of her. Slack jawed, she stared, every intricate little detail burning into her eyes. What was this?

The person reached them, and Lucy stared at him - a dark-skinned boy with deep, dark eyes carried a mop of shockingly light hair. He stared at Lucy for what seemed to be eternity. His forehead creased into a frown.

"What is this, Veedalus?"

Bushy Brows snarled. "This little girl dared kick me in the face...I'm going to make her pay -" His hand darted out.

The boy glared at him, and Bushy Brows suddenly quieted down, dropping the hand he was starting to extend to grab Lucy.

The boy turned to Lucy again, seemingly a friendly smile upon his face. "Hi. I'm Shou. What…" His eyes suddenly drifted down to her hand, and he stared.

Lucy glanced down, seeing only her Fairy Tail guild mark. "What?" Her voice came out creaky and raspy. "What's wrong?"

Shou's friendly mask had fallen off suddenly, and he grabbed her arm roughly. "Take her inside."

And the next thing Lucy knew, she was standing in a shadowed hall, staring at a man seated in a throne at the other end.

* * *

Gray frowned at the footprint. It was faint, but probably still pretty new, which meant that Lucy had passed here before. His eyes traced the beach, seeing how the boot prints stopped at an empty space on the dock, where a rope dangled lifelessly in the wind.

A boat, huh? The wind was carrying east, which was probably where Lucy had drifted on the boat. He sighed. Even though the girl was nice (most of the time) and a teammate, he couldn't help but wonder why Erza let her join the team. She was never that strong, always the damsel in distress.

_I thought she'd run out of bad situations to be in. Now lost at sea? That's a new one. _ Gray chuckled, standing up and stretching his cramped limbs. Spotting Jellal raising an eyebrow at him, he scowled.

"What do you want?"

Jellal sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Your clothes, Gray."

"Ack!"


	3. Dammit, Jellal

**Thank you so much for the support! :)**

* * *

Lucy shivered and rubbed her arms, shifting on the cold, stone floor. Tendrils of chill snaked their way into the holes of her clothes and shoes. For possibly the first time in her life, she wished that she had worn...less exposing clothing.

_But I'm cuter this way. _ The celestial mage puffed her cheeks out as she sat down on the floor of the prison and closed her eyes, dropping her hands to her side.

Her cold fingers brushed against something smooth and hard. Opening her eyes, Lucy looked down and shrieked, nearly bruising herself as she tried to get away from -

"A skull."

The voice, so cold and dark that it made Lucy shudder, echoed loudly in the empty dungeons. The blonde mage looked up fearfully at the figure that was standing outside of her cell.

It was that pink-haired person, the same one who'd so lazily given orders to just toss her into a cell. He didn't seem like a very nice person, no, not at all. Lucy stood up slowly and backed up until the jagged edges of the wall brushed on her back.

The metal door creaked open as the man stepped inside of the cell and into the dim lighting. Lucy got her first clear look - he wasn't a man, actually, but more of an older boy, possibly around her age. His sharp, onyx eyes glinted dangerously in the torchlight from the wall. A cloak was draped over his shoulders, midnight black with gold and silver trimmings.

He did not smile nor react as Lucy edged away even father, stone pressing into her skin and drawing blood. The boy simply walked forward, face unreadable, and reached down to grab the small skull on the ground. He held it delicately, as if he were afraid of harming it. Lucy watched as he lifted it into the torchlight, a flicker of amusement in his eyes as he studied it.

"Ah...if I am correct, this is my dear friend Happy's." The boy's mouth twisted into a rather unpleasant smile that was more like a grimace. "Too bad he refused to help me after a while…"

Without warning, his fingers curled into a fist, shattering the skull. A whimper of fright escaped Lucy and she shrunk down even more. The boy simply grinned and leaned forward into her face.

"Little Happy's egg sailed through my window one day. He was quite an interesting find, a blue cat that could fly!" He laughed. "He provided great assistance, lugging items for the towers back and forth every day. It was such a shame when he suddenly started blabbing on and on about how my actions were wrong…"

The boy now grinned, flashing sharp canines that made Lucy even more frightened. He was most definitely evil and twisted. _Oh Lucy, what have you gotten yourself into this time?_

"I wonder if you'll end up the same way."

It was not a question, more of a bored thought. The boy surveyed her, and as his head tilted, Lucy saw that his eyes were actually more of a green-brown color, like the dry, crumbling soil that she found in front of her house sometimes.

"Fairy Tail." Lucy jumped when he spoke - she'd been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she temporarily forgot where she was. She glanced down at her trembling hands and traced a finger along her pink guild mark, and this time, she stared up defiantly at the boy.

"Do you have a problem about that?" Her voice carried out clear and strong, completely unlike how she actually felt. Lucy was trembling inside, scared. _Oh, Gray, Erza, Jellal, come and help me!_

The boy chuckled and shook his head. "No...just wondering if you're another one of those guild idiots who come and nose around in my business. If you are, you might as well join little Happy." He clucked his tongue at her, grinned mockingly, and swished away, clang of the metal door still echoing long after his shadow had disappeared.

Tears rolled down Lucy's face as she slid to the dirty ground, slightly disrupting the shattered pieces of the skull. She scooped up some of the dirt on the ground, gently piling it over the broken pieces. Lucy closed her eyes and kneeled in front of the little grave, silently praying for the creature's soul, like she'd done so many times before with her mother.

_I wonder if you'll end up the same way._

The words rang in her mind like a taunt. Lucy closed her eyes and shook her head furiously as she wiped her eyes.

No. She would be strong, and face this crazed person.

_Oh, Mama, help me._

* * *

"Left. Oh, no, wait...it's right."

"What? You just told me that it's left!"

"I had the map upside down. It's right."

"Learn to read your maps correctly next time, you damn tattoo face."

Jellal glared. "Then you read next time, if you're so sure."

"Fine with me, at least I know my directions."

"Silence!" Erza slammed her armored fist down on the side of the boat, causing Jellal to nearly drop his map and Gray to fall over the side. But neither of them dared complain as Gray climbed back into the boat, soaking wet.

"Proceed with caution. Make sure there are no more mistakes." The scarlet-haired mage pulled out a plate of strawberry cake from seemingly nowhere and began eating, eyes sparkling. Gray sighed inwardly and turned back to control the boat.

A pair of fishermen had reported seeing a boat drift south of Haregon port. Erza had promptly knocked them out with her head for not attempting to pull it back, and Jellal rented a boat.

When they found Lucy, Gray would drag her back to the guild hall and go home. What was supposed to be a one day mission had turned out to possibly be more than three.

"Oh, wait, it was left. I _was_ reading the map the right way."

"Dammit, Jellal!"


	4. Gray-sama, I'm here!

"_Ah! Uwaah!" Jellal's tormented screams echoed loudly around the cavernous dungeon. The children in the cell all clustered even closer to each other, looking terrified, as if they were the ones in the chamber, not the bluenette. Natsu wanted to scream at them for being so idiotic and blind - there was no time to be scared! They had to break out and save Jellal!_

_He'd been quiet for the first hour - until there were a series of popping noises. Jellal had sounded like he'd lost it after that, and Natsu was pounding desperately on the iron bars, but he felt himself grow weaker and weaker - the mages had not bothered to patch up his leg._

_Most of the captured slaves had escaped to the ships - Erza was with them, so there wasn't much of a chance of the mages going after them. She'd shown her magical abilities when the old man Rob was killed. Many had died, but there were still a pair of beat up mages and a handful of soldiers._

_Letting out a roar of frustration, Natsu lit his fists aflame. The fire burned brightly for a few seconds, and the other dirty and ragged children dried their tears and looked up - but it sputtered out after a while. The pink-haired boy slid onto the floor on the cell, panting. He simply did not have enough power to melt through the bars._

_Just as he was getting up to try and break out again, thundering footsteps flew their way, and the cell door opened. Natsu let out a cry of surprise as something heavy and wet was tossed onto him. When the cell door clanked back shut, he peered closely at what seemed to be a bloody pile of rags, and recoiled in shock when he saw Jellal's face - it was so peaceful and calm, as if he were -_

"_Jellal! Wake up, wake up!" Natsu shook him frantically. "You can't die here! We have so much more to live for! We'll get out of this, I promise! Jellal!"_

_The footsteps returned, and Natsu glared up at the entrance, baring his teeth angrily at the fat man who stood there. The disgusting bastard was smirking, wincing slightly when his hand flew up to tenderly touch his swollen eye._

"_You're next, Pinky," he snarled. "You're just another one of those rebel leaders...it's time for your punishment!" With surprising speed, he swooped down and snatched Natsu, dragging him off and pulling on what remained of his shirt. Even though he was very, very angry, Natsu couldn't help but clench his fists in terror._

_He didn't want to go._

* * *

Natsu woke from yet another nightmare.

This time, the fear felt too real. Too real to be just a dream. It was as if he were reliving the past over and over again in the night. It terrified him.

_Zeref will protect me,_ he reminded himself for what felt like the millionth time - it still brought comfort to him. _Zeref will come next. He'll help me._

* * *

"Graaaaaay-sama!"

The ice make mage nearly jumped out of his skin, eyes widening as he turned around. Juvia, the blue-haired girl from Phantom Lord, was dashing across the beach, waving her hands wildly above her head. And was that a silver Fairy Tail mark fastening by her neck?

"Wh-what're you doing here?" Gray took a step back, as the girl was awfully close to him, hearts practically popping into her eyes.

"Juvia heard that Gray-sama was going to go search for Lucy-san ("Love rival," she added dangerously under her breath, causing Gray to take yet another nervous step back) and Juvia was concerned about Gray-sama's safety!" She warbled, snuggling up even closer to the other mage. Laughing awkwardly, Gray pushed her away a bit and turned back to Erza and Jellal. "Hey, you two…"

But they were still staring, rooted to the spot, at the dark, tall tower. Something was burning alight in both of their eyes - was that fear?

"Oi...Oi, Jellal! Erza!" Gray barked, waving his hand in front of their faces, waiting for a reaction. Finally, Erza's armoured fingers clanked quietly as she dropped her hand down to her side. With a burst of magic energy, a steel hilted, silver bladed sword appeared into her hand, and she began to march forward. "Let's go," was all she said.

Confused, Gray began to walk after her to the large tower, Jellal walking zombie-like in front of him, occasionally stopping and then walking again.

"Oh, boy." Gray sighed and trudged on, feeling very much the intense stare of Juvia burning on his neck.

* * *

**So sorry for being a very bad updater. School is as busy as hell. I swear that homework and projects are doubling with every week.**

**I also just read the latest chapter of Fairy Tail, and all I can say is...how could you, Mashima-san? How could you?**

**Quick thanks to:**

**BitterMondays**

**Doraguniru**

**ElieGlory 16**

**FairyTailADDICT**

**MisturRainbow**

**jwadd2**

**miki cherries**

**pentatonix5**

**CruxisRemnants**

**Fuuga GF**

**KanaeHitomi**

**StellarofEXO**

**koryandrs**

**Guest**

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